Week 5 in the danwei

At the end of week three, I accompanied three engineers and two other new recruits from our company to visit the largest power station in this province, three hours northwest of Xian. The purpose was to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in running the power plant, so as to help with the work we do in the office.

The thing that struck me the most was the relatively fresh air (the power station was in the country), and the irony or having to go a coal-burning, four unit (i.e., very big) power station to get some fresh air. The morning was spent wondering round, looking at all the stuff. I asked a few questions, but eiher didn't understand or couldn't here the answers. Inside was a mass of pipes leading all over the place, completely unintelligable to me. Our guide didn't seem to fussed about what we did, so we spent most of the time touching and pressing things we probably shouldn't do, and of course, taking a load of photos.

We took lunch across the road in a small countryside restaurant, although regrettably baijiu (chinese white wine, similar to airline fuel) was considered unwise. After lunch, nobody really seemed to know what to do. We got passed around from one department to the next, where eventually they found someone to lead us on what turned out to be the exact same route as the morning visit. We went into the control room of the each of the units, something like a watered down version of Mission Control. Behind the 2 control desks was another desk where Party officials sat around drinking tea making sure no-one gets upto any funny business.

In the car park of the company hotel waiting to leave, we saw a wedding stumbling out after an afternoon's festivities. The power plant is a self-contained unit, with living, education and recreational facilities for all the thousands of staff. Although the sign on the main gate is that of a pivate company, its definitely a state-owned company, so has many of the characteristics of the the old 'danwei'. I'm sure some people have spent their whole lives living inside the unit, using the hotel for special occasions when needed.

Aside from a load of photos of unidentifiable pieces of equipment and the other staff making 'V' signs, and a free dinner, I'm not sure how much knowledge was garnered. Still, another interesting look at something different.